Acrophobia
by Pikeru's Angel
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Artemis Fowl is afraid of?
1. Acrophobia

**Random, though not entirely plotless. Enjoy my feeble attempts at curing writer's block.**

There were some things Artemis Fowl the Second would never admit to.

No, not the elf kissing thing or past deeds and crimes; his fears. Admitting to them would mean having to face up to them, which was most certainly something he did not want to do. Hence, they're _fears_.

There was, of course, one person who knew all his fears inside and out. That person was me. Juliet Butler, in case you didn't know who you were talking to.

So let's go into a little describing of dear Arty's fears, shall we?

Alright, let's start with the most common one he has. A fear of death.

Now most, if not all, humans beings fear death, right? Well out young genius is no exception. Of course, he had great reason to. Trolls, murderous pixies, and family enemies. You'd be scared for your life too if you had to live one day always having to look over your shoulder like he does.

The second, not-so-common fear, is one a bit harder to describe. It's a fear of his personal space being violated, for lack of a better phrase. Which is one of the reasons he loves and loathes the _mesmer_; it can get you into anyone's head, but someone else can get into yours. He'd rather not have his mind cracked open like an eggshell.

The third and final fear that I'm aware of, is acrophobia.

Now acrophobia is a morbid fear of heights. Ah yes, I see that spark in your eye. You know where I'm going with this, don't you?

Have you ever wondered why Arty-Boy hasn't tapped into fairy wings technology? It's because he's afraid of it. The boy is perfectly fine in an airplane or a helicopter, but you put him at the top of the Seattle Space Needle and he'll start to have a mini panic attack, even if it doesn't show. I notice these things. Like how he never goes out on his balcony. It's because he can see where he'll be falling. He can picture it happen. I can too, believe me; I'm just not afraid of it.

Also, when he was younger, his mother took him to a lighthouse. Dom and I went with of course. Me because I'd been bored that day and Dom because, well, he couldn't leave Artemis' side. Now the lighthouse, as far as climbing up the stairs and looking out on the ocean, was over thirty feet up. So we go up. Artemis is hyperventilating by the time we get to the top. He tugged on my sleeve within two minutes (he was four at the time) and asked if I could go back down with him. I agreed.

Looking back I realise that this was probably the first trigger for the fear of heights, going up in that lighthouse I mean. He still hasn't come close to conquering it.

So there you go. All of Arty's fears. Tell anyone, and you'll find yourself with a cap in your head. Get it? Got it? Good.

~Juliet Butler


	2. Counting

**You guys wanted to see the little thing with the lighthouse. *shrugs* Read Acrophobia first.**

A four year old Artemis stared straight up at the winding staircase that led to the top of the lighthouse, swallowing rapidly. Did he really have to go all the way up there? What for? Was it really that important to see the world from that high up? And besides, the view was just the ocean. He could see that from the beach!

Juliet, being eight years old and fearless at the time, grabbed the young genius's hand to where he followed behind her. Angeline Fowl was already a quarter of the way there, and Juliet said so. "We wanna get to the top so we can meet her. Come on, Arty!" She said playfully. The raven haired boy sighed quietly, reluctantly following the blond. That was why he was doing this. His mother.

Juliet released as soon as Artemis was on the first step, rushing to catch up with the boy's mother. Artemis' teeth chattered loudly in his skull as he began his ascent.

_One, two, three, four…_

Juliet was calling to him now from the halfway point, telling him to hurry up. He didn't hear her. He just stared at each step as he got to it, focusing on the numbers.

_Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…_

Butler followed closely behind, keeping in step with the boy. His pace was painfully slow, but he appeared not to mind.

_Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five…_

His breath was getting shallower. He was hyperventilating a bit now, he knew, but he continued. The only thing to fear was fear itself after all. Yes, yes that helped a little. But not much.

_Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-thee…_

He was over halfway there. He nearly heaved a sigh of relief at the thought, but that was quickly demolished as he looked through the railing, suddenly dizzy. He was so high up. This height was more than enough to be fatal should he slip through. His eyes snapped back to the step in front of him, choosing not to look down long enough for the mental image of his splat to appear. He continued.

_Forty-two, forty-three, forty-four…_

How many steps were there?! Surely he should have been to the top by now! But he wasn't. There was still a good ten plus stairs to go. Dangit.

_Fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four…_

So close. Just three more steps and he'd be at the top. He wasn't sure whether he was comforted or terrified by that.

_Fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven!_

He was at the top! He'd actually made it to the top! Juliet smiled and ruffled his raven hair. "Good job, Arty." She said in a teasing voice. "You made it up without killing yourself." Artemis nodded, out of the corner of his eye looking through the railing again. It was so high… He walked over to the blond, stumbling a little because of his sudden dizziness. What if he fell somehow? What if the whole lighthouse collapsed on them? He'd be dead in a minute.

He started hyperventilating again, though tried to calm his breathing. He'd be fine. If Butler had thought the building was unsafe he wouldn't have let him enter, right? But the manservant couldn't predict how close it was to crumbling beneath their feet, could he?

After a brief moment of consideration, he tugged on Juliet's sleeve.

She looked down to the boy, a slightly puzzled expression on her tan features. "Yes Arty?" She questioned.

Artemis bit his lip for a second before asking. "Could you come back down with me please?" Juliet nearly laughed. The tone the genius was using was so odd for a four year old! As if he was in a business meeting!

She nodded, picking the boy up and putting him on her shoulders. His eyes widened and he grasped the hand she offered as if for dear life. "Three hundred ninety-nine." He muttered suddenly. "Three hundred ninety-nine." Juliet said nothing as she began, merely smiled. Every time she had ever picked him up he would do that. Just spout out a seemingly random number an repeat it to himself. It was like he was trying to distract himself.

Before he knew it Artemis and Juliet were back on solid ground, her gently lifting him off her shoulders and placing him in front of her. He blinked once in surprise and Juliet laughed, ruffling the genius's hair for the second time in so many minutes.

That's when she finally asked, "Why three hundred ninety-nine?"

Artemis' brow furrowed for a moment before he answered, as though it were obvious.

"It's the number of steps multiplied by itself." He replied simply.


End file.
